Dental cabinet



C. J. GAlL.

DENTAL CABINET Filed Jan. 4,Y 1937 INVENTOR.

W1 w Bf 1l/M May 31, 1938.

Patented May 31, 1938 UNlTED STATES PATENTY FFlCE 2 Claims.

This invention pertains to a dental cabinet or similar article including a plurality of drawers and provided with means whereby the drawers may be selectively opened to permit ready access to the contents thereof without causing the operator to touch handles, pulls or other portions of the cabinet with his hands.

Although the invention is applicable to various types of cabinets for use by various professions, it shall be described for purposes of illustration as it particularly pertains to the dental profession.

Dentists, doctors, etc., while working on their patients, find occasion to repeatedly change instruments, implements, materials, etc., which are ordinarily kept in suitable cabinets. Usually the dentist or physician, while working on the patient and while attempting to maintain his hands .in sterile condition, has to Contact drawer pulls, handles, and the like, in order to render additional instruments, medicaments and the like available forthe proper treatment of his patient. Obviously, handles, drawer pulls and the like are not sterile and as a result, the doctors or dentists contact with such handles and drawer pulls has a tendency to cause infection or inoculation of the patient with whatever impurities, bacteria, spores or the like may be picked up from such handles, drawer pulls and the like.

An object of the present invention, therefore,

is to disclose and provide a dental or medical cabinet or the like which may be actuated by foot pedals, thereby eliminating the necessity of contacting drawer pulls and handles with the hands of the operator.

Another object of the invention is to disclose and provide a cabinet provided with a plurality of drawers, a foot pedal positioned at the bottom of said cabinet and correlated with each of said drawers, and suitable lever and link means in operable engagement with each of said drawers whereby a limited downward movement of a foot pedal will produce a positive and amplied outward movement of a drawer.

These and other objects, uses and. advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description of a preferred arrangement of elements, it being understood that the drawing and detailed description referred to are for purposes of illustration and the invention is not limited to the specic embodiments therein shown and described.

In the appended drawing:

Fig. l is a front view of a portion of a cabinet embodying the structure of this invention.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the cabinet shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical section taken along the plane IIL-III of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section taken along the plane IVv-IV of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a horizontal section of a modified arrangement of elements.

As shown in the drawing, the cabinet may include an outer housing I5 provided with a table or working shelf il and an upper section I2. The upper section I2 may contain a plurality of drawers, such as the drawers I3 and I4. The lower section of the cabinet may also include a plurality of drawers, such as the drawers IE, I6, 'l, I8 and the like. These lower drawers ordinarily contain those instruments, medicaments or other tools and accessories which the operator most often requires in his work. Means are provided in accordance with this invention for automatically opening these drawers so as to render their contents readily accessible without manual contact.

As shown in the drawing, the drawers I5, IB, I'I and I8 are provided with such means which include foot pedals 20, 2l 22 and 23, pivotally connected to the bottom of the housing Ill. Such pedals may be either in the form of a bell crank, as shown, or in the form of a sector pivoted as at 24. Vertical lever members 25, 26 and 21 are positioned in the back of the cabinet, said members being pivotally connected at some point intermediate their ends, as. for example at 28. One end of the bell crank lever constituting the foot pedal may be operably connected as by means of a link 29 with the lower end of the vertical lever member 25.

A compound link motion, consisting of the links 3i) and 3l, is positioned back of each of the drawers, such as the drawer I5. One end of the link 3l! is preferably pivotally attached to a suitably xed support as, for example, at 32. The links 30 and 3l are pivotally connected as. at 33, the free end of' link 3l being pivotally connected to the drawer I5 as at 34. The end of the vertical lever member contacts with the link 3l) at a point spaced from the pivot point 32 and closer to said' pivot point than to the junction 33 with the link 3l.

With the arrangement shown, downward movement of the pedal 2t will cause a rearward thrust of the link 2S, causing the vertical lever member 25 to pivot on the point 28, thereby causing the links 3! and 3| to move forwardly into the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 4, in which position the drawer is in partly ejected position with its contents readily available to the operator. The drawer will remain in this ejected position as long as foot pressure is applied to the pedal 20 and upon release of such pressure will return to its original closed position under the influence of the spring 35 connecting the rear portion of the drawer I with the rear wall of the cabinet or housing I0. The rearward or closing movement of the drawer I5 will return the compound link motion and the lever 25 as well as the foot pedal 2U to their original positions.

Attention is called to the fact that the link 3| is shorter than the link 30 and in closed position, as indicated in Fig. 4, an angle of not less than about should exist between the members 30 and 3l in order to permit the proper functioning of the device. The length of the members 30 and 3l, levers 25 and the position of the pivot point 28, etc., can be varied in accordance with the general size and structure of the cabinet and the extent to which amplification' of the downward movement of the pedal 20 is to be converted into the linear motion of the drawer I5.

Since the lever members 26 and 21 are shorter than the lever 25, it may be necessary to move the pivot points 28 downwardly on the shorter levers 26 and 2l and to space the ends of the levers 25 and 21 slightly different distances from the pivot points 32 in order to produce desired ejection of the drawers I6 and II.

In Fig. 5 a modied form of compound link motion is shown. A bell crank lever 40 is mounted on a vertical stationary pin 4 I the short arm of said bell crank lever being in contact with the vertical lever member 25'. 'I'he outer end of the longer arm of the bell crank lever is pivotally connected to a link 42 which in turn is pivotally connected to the back of a drawer. In operating, this movement of lever 25 moves in the direction of the arrow and such motion is imparted to the lever by causing the foot pedal and its connected link 29 to operate a bell crank lever which in turn is connected to the lower end of the lever 25', which in this case is mounted on a pin extending from front to rear of the cabinet.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that numerous otherl link motions can be devised. Those specifically referred to are of advantage in that they occupy but little space and are free from operating diiculties caused by the formation of directly opposing forces in the linkage. All changes and modications as come within the scope of the appended claims are embraced thereby.

I claim:

l. In a dental cabinet, the combination of: a horizontally slidable drawer, a foot pedal pivotally attached to the lower portion of the cabinet, a vertically exten-ding lever means carried in the back of said cabinet, said vertically extending lever means being operably connected to said foot pedal, and an extensible link means operably associated with the back of the drawer and connected to said vertical lever means whereby limited downward movement of the foot pedal causes a horizontal and outward movement of the drawer.

2. In a dental cabinet, the combination of: a horizontally slidable drawer, a foot pedal pivotally attached to the lower portion of the cabinet, a vertically extending lever means carried in the back of said cabinet, said vertically extending lever means being operably connected to said foot pedal, an extensible link means operably associated with the back of the drawer and connected to said vertical lever means whereby limited downward movement of the foot pedal causes a horizontal and outward movement of the drawer, and spring means associated with said drawer for returning the same to original position.

CYRIL J. GAIL. 

